Walmart does do some amazingly good and amazingly bad things.
Positives (which aren't publicized as well) are their great disaster response, incredible internal efficiency (in ways other than wages or pushing down supplier prices, which they also do), bringing increasingly healthy food to areas which didn't have access before (Wal-Mart shoppers are not really likely to go to Whole Foods or a CSA; Wal-Mart is mainly competing against fast food and discount grocery chains), and being one of the forces protecting their customers from a declining real standard of living (their prices remain low; wages and other opportunities also remain low for other reasons). Due to their great economic efficiency, I think they're in the lead on environmental protection as well (at least as much as a big box store can be).
They definitely need to improve on employee relations, health care, and there are questions about them forcing local businesses out of business -- in some markets, they're adding choice and improving things, and in others, they're driving out local stores. I suspect adding a wal-mart to most really deprived areas would on balance be a positive, to solve the "food desert" problem.
Comments
Walmart does do some amazingly good and amazingly bad things.
Positives (which aren't publicized as well) are their great disaster response, incredible internal efficiency (in ways other than wages or pushing down supplier prices, which they also do), bringing increasingly healthy food to areas which didn't have access before (Wal-Mart shoppers are not really likely to go to Whole Foods or a CSA; Wal-Mart is mainly competing against fast food and discount grocery chains), and being one of the forces protecting their customers from a declining real standard of living (their prices remain low; wages and other opportunities also remain low for other reasons). Due to their great economic efficiency, I think they're in the lead on environmental protection as well (at least as much as a big box store can be).
They definitely need to improve on employee relations, health care, and there are questions about them forcing local businesses out of business -- in some markets, they're adding choice and improving things, and in others, they're driving out local stores. I suspect adding a wal-mart to most really deprived areas would on balance be a positive, to solve the "food desert" problem.